Twenty professional farmers from western China's Shaanxi province were recently admitted to a college, the Beijing News reported on Tuesday. They will receive a 3-year full-time higher vocational education starting this September.

The 20 farmers, with an average age of about 38, come from Weinan city. They are all major local planters or land contractors, according to the staff of the local agricultural department.

Enrolled through independent recruitment, they will attend Yangling Vocational and Technical College this September. They are also the first batch of professional farmers admitted by the college in Shaanxi province. Their education will be financed through public funds.

Due to curriculum differences, the college will set up a particular class for the 20 students. They will receive formal college degrees after three years of full-time study. Since the farmers have to deal with farm work, they will only attend classes four days a week. Additional vocations during the busy season will also be set up.

Chu Zhaohui, a research fellow at National Institute of Education Sciences remarked that it is important that the farmers can learn from the curriculum. Meanwhile, the demands of these farmers should be taken into consideration during their study.